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After conducting over 200 hours of testing and analysis, we’re confident that Wix is the best overall website builder. It offers excellent website features, high-quality design options, and dependable support, making it ideal for both beginners and experienced builders.
In my experience, Wix is incredibly easy to use and I found I could get a functional website up and running in a few hours. But what other options are there?
Our 5 Best Website Builders
- Wix – Best overall website builder
- Squarespace – Easiest website builder
- Shopify – Best ecommerce website builder
- Hostinger – For time-saving AI tools
- GoDaddy – Best value for money
On this page you’ll find a comparison table for an easy side-by-side look at your website builder options, plus a detailed review of each platform, and links to further reading if you need more advice.
Why you can trust us
At Website Builder Expert, our unbiased reviews, guides, and comparisons are backed up by solid research, data, and hands-on testing. Our team conducted over 200 hours of research to bring you our independent recommendations of the top website builders for creating your own site.
#1. Wix: Best Overall Website Builder
- Wix pricing: Free – $159 per month, get 10% off with our code “TAKE10”
- Read our Wix review for a detailed look at the website builder
Wix is the best website builder, offering a great range of designs, features, and support for people looking to build a website and grow online. Wix takes the top position in our website builder research for the ninth year in a row, scoring a near-perfect rating of 4.8 out of 5. So, why is Wix our favorite website builder? And who should use it?
| ✔️ Use Wix | ❌ Avoid Wix |
|---|---|
| If you’re looking for a variety of options, including templates and features that accommodate a diverse range of needs | If you’re going to make regular changes to your design – Wix doesn’t let you swap your template once your site is live |
| If you’re finding your feet – Wix is a user-friendly platform, suitable for personal sites and businesses launching online | If you run a large-scale business or you’re looking to expand – you’ll need to pay more to unlock advanced sales features, like product reviews |
| If you don’t want to spend too much money right away – you can build your website on Wix’s free plan before upgrading | If you want to build a niche website – I recommend going with a website builder that’s more focused on your needs |
My Experience With Wix
I had no trouble getting set up with Wix – the onboarding process took less than a minute with the help of Wix’s AI chatbot, creating a tailored website and dashboard based on my responses. If I wanted to choose a template myself, I could filter the 900+ professionally designed templates by industry, such as “Wellness” or “Restaurant”, or simply browse the entire library.
Once in the editor, I had complete creative control – Wix let me drag and place elements wherever I wanted them to go. This can be overwhelming at the start, especially for individuals who don’t feel confident designing.
While it can be easy to go overboard with the design elements using Wix’s editor, the drag-and-drop format is really easy to get to grips with, regardless of your skill level. I found Wix to be very user-friendly, providing more freedom and opportunities to customize than the likes of Squarespace or GoDaddy.
To complement its impressive design options, Wix includes a vast number of built-in features with its plans – these are the best features of any website builder I’ve tested. For example, you can sell online with Wix Ecommerce, take appointments from customers with Wix Bookings, and grow your online presence with Wix’s SEO tools. Additionally, you can download third-party apps if you need further enhancements, such as Klaviyo for email marketing.
While you might need a higher-tier plan to access certain features, like unlimited storage space (available with the Business Elite plan), the majority of Wix’s features are included with the cheapest plan.
How Much Does Wix Cost?
You can get started with Wix’s free plan, but it does come with limitations, such as ads that make your site lack professionalism. That being said, you can stay on the free plan for as long as you’d like, so it’s a great place to familiarize yourself with Wix’s editor and dashboard before spending any money.
To unlock Wix’s full catalog of features, you’ll need to upgrade to one of Wix’s premium plans. Wix’s pricing ranges from $17 to $159 per month (billed annually). If you want to sell online, you’ll need at least the Core plan which costs $29 per month.
Hear from a real Wix user to learn about their experience with the website builder:
| Latest Wix News |
|---|
| Wix has introduced an AI Site-Chat, helping businesses connect with customers at any time of day, every day of the week. The AI chatbot can support customers with queries, provide information, and direct them to pages on your site. |
#2. Squarespace: Easiest Website Builder
- Squarespace pricing: $16 – $52 per month, get 10% off with code “WBE10”
- Read our Squarespace review for a detailed look at the website builder
Squarespace is the easiest website builder to use. Its editor is incredibly user-friendly, and the available templates are stylish and aesthetically pleasing – all customizable to suit your brand. And, like Wix, Squarespace caters to a wide range of users with its built-in features, offering tools to support individual portfolios as well as businesses. So, who do I recommend Squarespace for?
| ✔️ Use Squarespace | ❌ Avoid Squarespace |
|---|---|
| If you want to create a design-focused website thanks to Squarespace’s templates and aesthetic options | If you want to build a global site – Squarespace’s multilingual tools aren’t as impressive as other website builders, like Shopify |
| If you’re a complete beginner to building websites – Squarespace is the easiest website builder to use | If you run a large online store – while you can use Squarespace’s ecommerce tools, you’ll be better supported by a dedicated ecommerce builder |
| If you want to offer services – Squarespace’s Acuity Scheduling tool is a great way for clients to make appointments or sign up for courses |
My Experience With Squarespace
When I tested Squarespace, the onboarding process was smooth and straightforward. The website builder is well-known for its stunning templates and design elements.
I could choose from over 150+ Squarespace templates – less than Wix’s 900+ themes. However, Squarespace’s designs are of a similar quality to Wix and cover a wide range of industries, including “Weddings” and “Food”.
Alternatively, you can build your website using Squarespace Blueprint AI, its built-in AI website builder. When I tested this myself, it took me less than 10 minutes to create a website from scratch thanks to Squarespace’s suggestions and design options.
Because of Squarespace’s focus on exceptional visuals, I highly recommend the website builder for creatives and design-focused websites. Thinking about building an artist website, for example? Squarespace’s templates provide a solid foundation for users to build on and enhance.
Squarespace’s overall interface is intuitive and beginner-friendly – the drag-and-drop editor means you can customize your pages to your liking. Plus, the grid-style framework will help you avoid cluttered or messy-looking sections.
I was impressed by the range of built-in features to help you market your business and sell online, such as Squarespace Email Campaigns to target your audience effectively and branded invoices for client engagement. You can also elevate your website with add-ons – Acuity Scheduling lets you offer bookable services to clients and its plans start from $16 per month.
The seamless journey between the editor and backend dashboard makes it easy to monitor and manage your Squarespace website, too. That said, if you do feel like you need an extra helping hand, Squarespace provides 24/7 live chat support and a Knowledge Center full of tutorials and guides.
How Much Does Squarespace Cost?
Squarespace offers a 14-day free trial, but you’ll eventually need to subscribe to one of four premium plans. Squarespace’s pricing ranges from $16 to $52 per month (billed annually). To sell online, choose the $23 per month Business plan (Squarespace’s best value plan) or one of its more advanced commerce plans which start from $28 per month.
#3. Shopify: Best Ecommerce Website Builder
- Shopify pricing: $29 – $299 per month
- Read our Shopify review for a detailed look at the website builder
Are you looking to sell products online? Shopify is the best ecommerce website builder on the market, providing a dedicated platform for online stores to get started and expand. So, if ecommerce functionality is a key priority for you and your business when choosing a website builder, consider Shopify.
| ✔️ Use Shopify | ❌ Avoid Shopify |
|---|---|
| If you’re looking to sell products online since Shopify is the best website builder for ecommerce functionality | If you don’t have any products to sell and want to build a design-heavy website, because Shopify’s customization options are limited |
| If you want the best sales features – Shopify’s constantly rolling out new features to support your online store, as you can see from the Shopify Editions Winter ‘24 announcement | If you’re budget-conscious – Shopify’s plans are expensive, and there’s a short free trial and limited free templates |
| If you have some prior building experience – Shopify isn’t the most user-friendly builder with its section-based editor | If you’re a novice or beginner builder since you’ll struggle to dive right into Shopify’s editor and will be more comfortable with builders like Squarespace |
My Experience With Shopify
When I first got set up with Shopify, it immediately directed me towards adding products to my inventory, as opposed to the usual instruction of designing a website first. I highly recommend following this instruction because it’ll help to have products readily available when you start editing your pages.
The product page form is simple to fill out, and I made the most of Shopify Magic – Shopify’s AI tool which helps with text generation for product descriptions. This helps you save time during setup, and it’s easy to tweak if your products evolve.
Unfortunately, the design process with Shopify is a little complicated thanks to its section-based editor and limited free templates. Shopify and Squarespace are closely matched in a lot of our research areas, but when it comes to ease of use, Squarespace takes the lead without question since Shopify isn’t the most user-friendly builder.
Plus, Shopify has a heavy reliance on third-party apps, meaning additional costs can add up quickly, especially if you’re having to pay for a premium template as well.
Shopify offers a huge variety of payment options and unmatched sales features, such as multichannel integration so you can start selling on platforms like TikTok, as well as abandoned cart recovery to improve customer retention. Shopify’s suite of quality tools makes it ideal for businesses looking to sell online.
If you don’t want to sell products, you don’t need to shell out for a Shopify plan. But if you have a complex or large inventory – more than 10 products or so – Shopify’s sales features and dedicated ecommerce resources are worth the price point.
And, as I already mentioned, Shopify’s app market is used to bolster its in-house offering, meaning merchants can pick and choose which features they need to grow and support their business.
How Much Does Shopify Cost?
Shopify’s pricing ranges from $29 to $299 per month (billed annually), spread across three plans. This is considerably more expensive than other website builders, but that’s a consequence of Shopify’s ecommerce focus. For example, Squarespace’s ecommerce plans start at $23/mo.
Fortunately, you can try Shopify’s 3-day free trial to help you get to grips with the builder, and you can get your three first month for just $1. Shopify is built with businesses in mind, so it won’t be the right fit if you don’t need to sell products. I recommend it for growing or expanding businesses, especially given the higher price point.
#4. Hostinger: For Time-Saving AI Tools
- Hostinger pricing: $2.99 – $3.99 per month
- Read our Hostinger website builder review for a detailed look at the website builder
Hostinger is another easy website builder to use, sitting just behind Squarespace in our user experience tests. Hostinger offers a plethora of AI tools, including an AI website builder, to help users get online quickly and easily. Plus, Hostinger’s pricing is the most affordable of the bunch, starting from just $2.99 per month. Should you use Hostinger’s website builder?
| ✔️ Use Hostinger | ❌ Avoid Hostinger |
|---|---|
| If you’re after a user-friendly builder – Hostinger’s AI tools and drag-and-drop editor make it ideal for beginners | If you’re after advanced creative control – Hostinger targets beginners with its editor and AI tools |
| If you need support in building a site – you can let Hostinger handle content and image creation | If you want to build a complex website – you can’t add third-party features so you’re stuck with the features Hostinger provides |
| If you want to build a simple site or small online store – it’s ideal if you don’t need all of the bells and whistles of larger website builders, like Wix | If your website needs to grow – Hostinger lacks scalability, with only two plans to choose from |
| If you want an affordable website builder – Hostinger’s plans only cost a few dollars |
My Experience With Hostinger
Hostinger gave me a range of options to get started, but the three step AI website builder got me up and running in less than under 60 seconds. The form requested basic information like “Brand name” as well as a brief description of the website, and following a quick loading screen, Hostinger presented me with a tailored template to edit.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t too impressed by what Hostinger’s AI created – it lacked the quality and sleekness of Squarespace’s templates. That being said, it’s a great option if you’re looking to get online quickly.
Within the editor, I could add new elements or sections, such as galleries and contact forms. And, like Squarespace, Hostinger has a drag-and-drop editor that features a smart grid. However, the grid framework is only there to guide, so you still have the freedom to move elements anywhere you like, similar to Wix.
Hostinger has improved considerably since last year’s research, securing its new position in our top five thanks to its ease of use and AI features. I tried a few of these out for myself when building my test website. The AI Heatmap can give you a great visual indication of where visitors or customers are engaging with your site, and the AI Blog Generator is a beneficial resource if you want to boost your site’s content.
While its AI tools are fairly well-developed, it’s clear that Hostinger has prioritized these developments over other core functionalities or design options. For example, there are no email marketing tools which is surprising when that’s a standard website feature available from the other website builders in the list.
How Much Does Hostinger Cost?
Hostinger’s pricing ranges from $2.99 to $3.99 per month (billed annually), making Hostinger the cheapest website builder on the list.
For core website features, including Hostinger’s AI website builder, you’ll be comfortable with the Premium plan ($2.99/mo). But, to unlock ecommerce features and AI tools, including the AI Text Generator and AI Heatmap, then you’ll need the Business Website Builder plan ($3.99/mo).
Unfortunately, Hostinger doesn’t offer a free plan but you can test the AI website builder using Hostinger’s 30-day free trial. The cheapest pricing is available if you choose the 12, 24, or 48-month subscription, rather than paying monthly. If you choose the 48-month plan, Hostinger often gifts you a month or two for free; in the past I’ve seen up to three months free!
#5. GoDaddy: Best Value for Money
- GoDaddy pricing: $9.99 – $20.99 per month
- Read our GoDaddy review for a detailed look at the website builder
GoDaddy is the quickest and most cost-effective way to get online. From our pricing research, GoDaddy came out on top as the best value for money. Not only does it offer a free plan, but GoDaddy’s premium plans are very affordable, especially for beginners or businesses working with a limited budget. Is it the right website builder for you?
September 2024 update: GoDaddy’s Basic plan dropped in price, changing from $10.99 per month to $9.99 per month, further cementing its position as the best value builder in our list.
| ✔️ Use GoDaddy | ❌ Avoid GoDaddy |
|---|---|
| If you’re a beginner with limited experience – GoDaddy’s editor is simple to use so you won’t need to be a tech wizard to get started | If you own a complex business or large online store – these would benefit from a website builder that offers more dedicated ecommerce resources like Shopify |
| If you have basic website requirements and don’t need many design options – e.g. a blog that will largely be informational | If you want a unique website design – GoDaddy’s bland templates and elements will feel restrictive |
| If you want to get online quickly – GoDaddy will have your website live in minutes, especially with its AI support | If you want advanced customization options – GoDaddy’s section-based editor and beginner-friendly interface targets novices rather than designers |
My Experience With GoDaddy
When I tried building a website with GoDaddy, I managed to complete the onboarding process in under 30 seconds. This makes it the ideal choice if you’re looking for a speedy website builder to get online quickly.
GoDaddy’s editor is simple to use, using a section-based layout and offering users a variety of pre-designed elements to add. I could also use GoDaddy’s AI builder and AI content generation tools to support the design process.
However, the options are far more basic than the likes of Wix. There are 14 section categories in comparison to Wix’s 20. So, your choices are limited with GoDaddy. If you’re struggling to choose between Wix or GoDaddy, Wix is the better website builder overall, especially when it comes to designing a website.
While GoDaddy offers less creative freedom than Wix or Squarespace, where you can drag items around anywhere, you can reach out to GoDaddy’s expert help team if you ever need a helping hand. Plus, GoDaddy has recently launched GoDaddy Airo to support small businesses getting online, an AI-powered free tool that can help with building a website, generating marketing campaigns, and more.
GoDaddy offers 24/7 phone and live chat support, so you can address any problems immediately. And, if you want to boost your website builder knowledge or brush up on a topic like SEO, then GoDaddy’s knowledge center provides you with the reading material to get started.
How Much Does GoDaddy Cost?
GoDaddy’s pricing ranges from $9.99 to $20.99 per month (billed annually), split across three paid plans. You can also get started with GoDaddy’s free plan, but it comes with ads and very standard features, like website security. I recommend upgrading to one of the three premium plans to remove ads.
Simple or informational websites will be content with the cheapest plan, Basic, which includes built-in SEO tools for website visibility and email marketing tools to connect with your audience. But, you’ll need to upgrade to the $20.99 per month Commerce plan if you want ecommerce tools.
How To Choose the Right Website Builder for You
Whether you’re looking to build a website for the first time, or you want to make the switch from your current website builder to another, it can be tough to know where to start and what to look out for. Comparing website builders can be a daunting task to undertake. So, how do you start?
It depends on your needs and requirements – I recommend building a checklist of criteria that you want from a website builder, or you can use our expert tips below to help shape your search.
- Building a small business website? Look for ecommerce capabilities with a website builder’s plans. What payment options are available? Is there room to grow your business if you’re successful? Are you limited by the number of products you can sell? Are there marketing tools to help promote your shop? Can you sell across other platforms, like social media?
- Want to showcase your work? If you’re building an online portfolio website, I recommend examining the design elements and features available to see how you can visually present your work best. Are there tools to help share your website with clients? What SEO features are included with your plan? Can you install third-party apps or integrations? Are your creative needs met with the website builder?
- Looking for a cheap website builder? Review a website builder’s plans to see what features are available for different price points and where you can get the best deal for your money. Is there a free website builder plan or free trial available? Does the price jump massively between plans if you need to upgrade?
Can I Switch Website Builders?
You can always migrate your assets over to another website builder if you’re looking to make a change. This will require some additional steps, such as backing up and transferring your work.
If you choose to do this manually, switching can be a long process and can require a lot of hard drive space. However, automatic migration services are available, but these can cost between $300-$400 each time.
How We Test Website Builders
We put 16 leading website builders through an in-depth testing process to determine our rankings and recommendations. Our research team conducted over 200 hours of research to bring you our shortlist of the top website builders, covering 398 areas of investigation in total.
We want to make sure our recommendations accurately reflect the builders and market, so we regularly review our research to make sure our pages are up to date.
